Method for making lap joints



April 14, 1970 w. J. CURRY METHOD FOR MAKING LAP JOINTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 25, 1963 April 14, 1970 w. J. CURRY METHOD FOR MAK-ING LAP JOINTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 23, 1963 :MINM

United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 29-451 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THlE` DISCLOSURE A method of joining exible material to a connector including disposing a channel-shaped connector along the margin of the material, pressing the margin of the maten'al into the channel-shaped connector and inserting a locking tape over the margin of the material with the edge portion of the locking tape within anges on the channelshaped connector. Apparatus for forming a lap joint for pieces of flexible material including a frame, a rollen at the leading end of the frame for pressing overlapping marginal portions of flexible material into a channel member, means for buckling a locking tape prior to insertion thereof in the channel member and a roller mounted at the rear portion of the ange for pressing the buckled locking tape in the channel.

My invention relates to a method and apparatus for making lap joints particularly adapted for joining sheets of plastic material Such as lamentary plastic materials, although it may be Successfully used in joining flexible tapes together or connecting flexible tapes to flexible sheet material.

There are many industries in which my invention may be used to advantage although at present I am particularly interested in a phase or phases of the building industry or art.

In building operations particularly those undertaken during winter and inclement weather, it is a known practice to erect a skeleton frame over a building operational site, and to cover this frame with canvas, building -paper or other similar fibrous material to inclose the building operation and so permit structural work being carried out uninterruptedly with a certain degree of comfort under all conditions of weather and without stoppages arising out of inclement weather.

However there are many disadvantages and drawbacks in the present practice such as transportation and storage of the covering material when not in use to afford sufficient protection to the covering materials to prevent premature perishing which would render the covering material unfit for further or repeated use.

In solving my present problem there were several obstacles to be overcome and certain objects to be attained before assurance of the successful solving of my problems.

One of the objects of my invention is the use of a method whereby a protective covering for a building operation can be readily and quickly assembled and carried out at the place where the building is being erected and at the same time preserve the facilities of daylight lighting of the interior of the protective covering so that building operations may be successfully carried out under such covering protection.

Another object of my invention is to provide a covering for a skeleton frame temporarily erected over a building site and building operations, so that the frame may be quickly and eciently covered by sheets of transparent plastic material, the several sheets being arranged for lap jointing, and whereby the sealing or securing of such lap jointing may be expediently and eciently carried out without sewing or stapling, and in which the joints so formed will withstand normal usage without becoming inadvertently disconnected.

A further object of my invention is to permit of the ready disassembly of the covering sheet material so that it may be packed and stored in a minimum of space and without damage or premature perishing, and the covering material may be re-used in subsequent building operations.

Another object of my invention is to so construct the lap joints that they will remain intact and may only be disconnected by predetermined and intentional effort.

Still a further object of my invention is to utilize a channel member of flexible or semi-flexible material as a connection media between overlapping marginal portions of sheet material and to press the overlap into the contines of the channel and secure it there against accidental separation.

Another object of my invention is to utilize an anchoring strip of semi-flexible material as wide or slightly wider than the inner width of the channel used in the joints and to press this strip into the channel to overlie the lap jointing of the sheet material which is being joined.

Still a further object of my invention is to construct the channtel with its lateral walls slightly overlying the web of the channel and to press the overlapping end of the sheet material into the channel and then press the strip into the channel with the edges of the strip underlying the overhanging sides of the channel.

Another object of my invention is to construct the machine for forming the joint, of a simple strong and durable nature possessing a long life and not liable to go out of repair under normal working conditions.

Other objects of my invention will be made clear as f the specification develops.

So that the nature of my invention will be clearly understood, I have carefully described the method of assembling an overlapping joint of adjacent sheets of ilexible material, and I have illustrated and described the device by means of which this method can be carried out, but I wish it to be understood that I do not limit my invention to the specific steps of the method or the specific device for assembling the joint but reserve the right to modify the same within the scope of my appended claims and without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

In the drawings;

FIGURE l is a perspective view of my hand operated machine for joining overlapping sheets of flexible plastic materials and inserting the joint in a plastic channel to hold the joint in position by a plastic tape.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of an alternative device for buckling the tape in a transverse direction prior to inserting it into the channel above the lapped joint of the sheets of flexible plastic material.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the channel with the overlapping marginal portions of plastic sheet material placed across the channel and showing the flexible locking strip being inserted into the channel.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged transverse section of the channel connector with lap joint formed therein.

Like characters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, A represents my improved device or machine for inserting the exible locking strip B into locking position with the channel member 1.

The tape inserter A consists of a hollow frame or housing 3 which is open at its ends and the top Wall 3a of this frame or housing extends forwardly to overhang the forward open end of the frame or housing. The bottom wall of the frame or housing is formed with a central longitudinal channel or slot 3b.

Beneath the forward overhanging end of the top wall 3a of the frame or housing 3, a roller 4 is rotatably mounted, and the central portion of this roller extends into the longitudinal slot or channel 3b in the lower wall of the housing. A pair of spaced spindles 5a are mounted in the frame 3 intermediate of the length thereof and these spindles are vertically disposed and in paral lelism. On each of these spindles an inverted frustoconical roller 5 is rotatably mounted and the lateral wall of each roller is concave, with the upper end of the concave wall merging into the radial flange 5b while the lower end of the concave wall merges into a relatively small radial liange 5c.

In the rear open end of the frame or housing 3 a roller 6 is rotatably mounted on the spindle 6a which is secured to the lateral walls of the lframe 3, and the peripheral wall 6b of the roller 6 is convex so that the roller is somewhat barrelshaped. The periphery of the roller 6 extends into the channel 3b in the bottom wall of the frame or housing 3 as is clearly shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings. On the upper wall of the frame or housing 3 l provide a hand grip D.

The tape inserter guide C comprises a tubular frame 7 which is rectangular in cross section and provided at its front end with a pair of perforated lugs 13 which are connected by the links 13a with the orifices 13b in the frame or housing 3.

In the bottom wall 7a of the tubular frame 7, a pair of spaced spindles 11a and 11b are .provided on which the discs 11 are mounted. Each of the discs is formed with a pair of depending spindles 11c which are spaced apart and arranged diametrically opposite each other, and the lower end of these depending spindles each carry a frustoconical roller 8 having a concave lateral wall 8a and the upper end of each roller is formed with a radial flange 8b, and the lower end of each roller is formed with a radial flange 8c It will be observed that the spindle 11a extends from the bottom wall of the tubular frame and extends through the top wall 7b and the upper end of the spindle 11a is provided with a crank 10 formed with a hand grip (not shown), so that when the crank 10 is swung through an arc, the spindle 11a will rotate through an arc preferably between 60 to 90 either in a clockwise or in an anticlockwise direction as desired.

On the partial rotation of the spindle 11a, the disc 11 mounted thereon is partially rotated and this motion is transmitted to the disc 11 on the stub spindle 11b by means of longitudinally disposed link 9 which connects the two discs 11 at a point adjacent to the peripheral edges of the said discs.

A channel connector 1 of plastic or other similar flexible material is provided and formed with side walls 1a which overhang the lower web wall of this channel, and to this end the side walls 1a may be formed with inwardly disposed anges 1b which are oppositely disposed as shown in FIGURE 1. However in FIGURE 3 I have shown the channel 1 with arcuate side Walls 1c, but it will be understood that I may make the side walls of the channel 1 of any suitable shape which will provide for these side walls overhanging the bottom or web wall of the channel connector 1.

It will be noted that the tape B is of a width which will it snugly between the lateral walls 1a of the channel connector 1, and the lateral edges of the tape B will underlie the inwardly disposed lianges 1b when the lower radial ange 8c of the frusto-conical rollers -8 coact with the flanges 1b when a lap joint is being made.

Further it will be noted that when the crank handle 10 is manually rocked then the spindle 11a is rocked and will move the link 9 longitudinally within the tubular frame 7 so rotating the discs 11 and in this manner engage or disengage the radial flanges 8c of the rollers 8 with the overhanging sides of the channel 1.

In making a lap joint, the marginal adjacent portions of two sheets E and F of plastic material are superposed on the channel connector 1 and the strip B of flexible tape is positioned directly over the lapped portion of the two sheets E and F.

The inserting machine A is now positioned at the end of the channel connector 1, and the end of the strip B is placed over the roller 4, and the lateral edges of the strip B are moved toward each other to buckle the strip B just after it passes over the roller 4. This buckling is performed by the spaced inverted frusto-conical rollers 5 and the concave walls of the rollers which engage the marginal portions of the strip B.

The strip B now passes under the roller 6, and as the machine A is moved forwardly fmanually, then the tubular frame 7 will overlie the end of the channel connector 1 on which it is superimposed and during the forward motion of the machine A and the tubular -frame 7, then the radial flanges 8c of the rollers 8 are moved into engaging position with the tape B and beneath the overhanging flanges 1b of the channel connector 1.

The function of the roller 4 is to position the tape B so that it will properly pass through between the spaced rollers 5 and buckle the tape B so that the marginal edges of the tape will readily extend under the anges 1b of the channel connector 1. The roller 6 presses the tape B flat within the channel connector but the actual complete locking of the tape B within the channel connector is performed by the radial flanges 8c on the roller 8 on the tubular fra-me 7.

It will be readily understood that a lap joint can be quickly formed on the overlapping marginal edges of adjacent sheets of plastic material, and after the commencement of making the joint is under way, the sheet material E and F at their marginal edges are pressed into the channel connector 1 by the roller 4, and the buckling of the tape B and the sealing of the tape over the overlapping marginal edges of the sheets E and F which are located in the channel connector 1 is quickly completed.

The channel connector 1 may be easily severed transversely by a knife when a lap joint has been made, and other lap joints may be then formed so that the covering for the skeleton frame over a building operation will be made to conform to the shape of the skeleton frame.

I have not illustrated a hand grip on a crank 10` but it will be understood that a suitable vertical hand grip may be attached to the crank at its outer end.

In FIGURE 2 I have illustrated an alternative device for buckling the tape B transversely by providing spaced rollers 14 mounted on the frame or housing 3, and this device may be used in lieu of the frusto-conical rollers 5 which I have illustrated in FIGURE l. However, in FIGURE 2 there is provided an arcuate bending or buckling member 15 over which the tape B passes after leaving the rollers 14. The arcuate member 15 is of semi frusto-conical shape or approximately of such a shape so long as it will insure a buckling of the tape B as it passes longitudinally over the member 15.

I have described the tape inserter A and the tape inserter guide C as being articularly connected by intermediate links 13a, and this construction provides two definite hinge connections which will permit of my device following the channel connector 1 whether this channel connector is straight or arcuate in form. It will be appreciated however that the tape inserter A and the tape inserter guide C may be mounted on the same housing or base if the device is designed for use with straight channel connectors 1.

A skeleton frame on which plastic covers are mounted may be of the dome type in which case the channel connectors will be arcuate in form, and it is to show the adaptability of my device to` arcuate channel connectors that I have described this articulated form of Imy invention in detail. As the tape inserter A and the tape inserter guide C may be mounted on the same housing the wide scope for use of my device will be appreciated.

My tape inserter A and tape inserter guide C essentially form a unit which may be hand operated or power operated if desired, although the power accessory does not constitute my present. invention. An electrically or mechanically controlled winding machine can be used as a motive power to draw my improved device along a tape securing channel connector to form a lap joint of two sheets of plastic material in the channel.

It will also be appreciated that a channel connector may be attached to a skeleton building covering frame intermediate of two lap joints, and in this manner the plastic cover is applied to the skeleton frame Without the use of nails or other fastening means which would pierce the plastic cover. Further the plastic covers may be used on windows, greenhouses and on a large number of other building structures, and by positioning the channel connectors in suitable locations on building frames, plastic covers may be mounted on such building frames wherever required, `by the use of my device.

The channel connectors 1 may be extruded and formed of a plastic material which may be readily cut transversely by a pocket knife or other suitable and similar tool, so that the channel connectors may be divided into lengths suitable to the length of the joint ybeing made.

It will be quite evident that this device can be used with semi-skilled labour, and the joints maybe dismantled after a building operation has been completed and the frame has to be moved to another building site. The plastic sheet covering material can be used time and again if a little care is taken when dismantling the joints, and the channels and tapes may also be used over and over again.

From the above it will be seen that I have invented a method of making lap joints on overlapping marginal edges of plastic sheets, and I have also disclosed the unique type of machine which is necessary to form such a lapped joint. The several parts of the machine are each exposed for ready inspection and will not go out of repair under normal working conditions, and as stated above this type of lapped joint may be made by semiskilled labour so reducing operational costs in winter building operations.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A method of forming a lap joint between overlapping marginal portions of adjacent sheets of flexible material by pressing the overlapping portions of the dlexible material longitudinally into a channel-shaped connector between lateral walls overhanging the bottom wall of the channel connector, transversely buckling a at flexible tape whose width corresponds generally to that of said ybottom wall, and feeding same into said channel connector, then pressing the buckled portion of the tape in the channel connector against the underlying overlapping portions of said sheets, and then pressing the lateral edges of the tape beneath and in engagement with the overhanging lateral walls of the channel connector thereby to rmly hold the underlying overlapping portions of said sheets between the bottom wall of the channel connector and said tape.

2. A method of joining a relatively large piece of rela tively thin flexible material to a connector along a narrow elongated region of said piece, comprising the steps of disposing a channel-shaped connector along said region with the opening of said channel-shaped connector facing one side of said region, said channel-shaped connector having a bottom wall and inwardly extending anges; pressing said region into said channel-shaped connector and against said bottom wall; disposing a flat locking tape, having a width between edge portions substantially the same as the width of said lbottom wall, above the other side of said region, buckling said at locking tape such that the distance between the edge portions is less than the opening of said channel dened by said inwardly extending flanges; inserting said Ibuckled locking tape in the opening of said connector, and pressing said locking tape to place the edge portions of said locking tape under said flanges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,048,895 7/1936 Rosen 161-145 XR 2,313,228 3/1943 Domonkos 160-394 XR 754,175 3/1904 Tynan et al. 114-224 1,326,660 12/1919 Hainer 114-224 2,189,138 2/1940 Eichner 29-235 XR 1,834,554 12/1931 Taylor 156-200 1,890,308 12/1932 Taylor 156-200 2,169,936 8/1939 Wagner 229-55 2,822,575 2/ 1958 Imbert et al. 156-201 JOHN T. GOOLKASIAN, Primary Examiner HENRY F. EPSTEIN, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

